Cheniere to ‘reassess’ bonus plan for its CEO

Cheniere Energy Inc., the natural gas export business that compensated its chief executive officer more than any other U.S. company last year, will “reassess its strategy” for bonuses following shareholder backlash, the company said in a regulatory filing Friday.

Cheniere, based in Houston, gave CEO Charif Souki a $142 million compensation package in 2013, which included 6.3 million stock units valued at $133 million. Following a shareholder lawsuit on compensation, the company postponed its annual meeting by three months and said it would withdraw proposals that would have added 30 million shares — valued at $2.3 billion — to the company’s bonus pool for paying employees.

“After receiving feedback from stockholders and consulting with management, the board determined that this is not the appropriate time to ask the stockholders to approve a new pool of shares,” Cheniere said in an updated proxy filing Friday. “The company will reassess its strategy in this context given the need to attract, retain and motivate employees with the talent and experience to effectively execute the company’s strategic business plan.”